States › Vermont › Bennington County

Bennington County, Vermont

Recorded hazard history: storm events since 1950, federal disaster declarations since 1953, flood insurance claims since 1978, and FEMA's risk index.

FIPS 50003 · 37,312 residents (2021) · 674 sq mi · dominant hazard Wind

Hail · 55Tornado · 6Flood · 78Wind · 292Winter · 253

Bennington County within Vermont. Dots: HailTornadoFloodWind event locations in the kept record. Boundaries: US Census Bureau.

NCEI notes that Storm Data is compiled from a variety of sources including the National Weather Service, other federal, state and local agencies, the media and the public; that property and crop damage figures are estimates; and that some events are recorded by NWS forecast zone rather than by county. FEMA notes that NFIP claim records are redacted and aggregated to protect the privacy of policyholders. NCEI storm records through 30 Jun 2026; OpenFEMA declarations refreshed 1 Oct 2026; NFIP claims as of 8 Sep 2026.

Between 1950 and 2026, NCEI recorded 795 storm events in Bennington County, Vermont, led by damaging wind.

That is 117.9 events per 100 square miles, in line with the Vermont figure of 119.4, and 213.1 per 10,000 residents against 170.5 statewide.

31 events fall in the 12 months to 30 Jun 2026. NCEI attributes 1 death and 4 injuries to events in the county, with property damage estimated at $6.0M and crop damage at $9K.

FEMA has designated the county in 21 federal disaster declarations since 1953; the most recent is Tropical Depression Debby (emergency, 8 Aug 2024).

National Flood Insurance Program policyholders in the county filed 112 claims since 1978, of which 90 were paid, totalling $1.5M (about $17K per paid claim). FEMA counts 238 residential flood policies in force.

FEMA's National Risk Index rates the county's overall risk as "Relatively Low" and its expected annual loss as "Relatively Low" ($19M a year across 18 hazards).

27 tropical storm or hurricane tracks in the HURDAT2 record passed within 100 miles of the county's centre at tropical-storm strength or more, 0 of them within 50 miles at hurricane strength.

31events, last 12 monthsto 30 Jun 2026

795events since 19501 death, 4 injuries recorded

21disaster declarationslast 8 Aug 2024

112NFIP flood claims$1.5M paid

Compared with Vermont and the United States

Measure	Bennington County	Vermont	US
Recorded events since 1950	795	11,007	1,977,440
Events per 100 square miles	117.9	119.4	56.0
Events per 10,000 residents	213.1	170.5	59.6
Events in the last 12 months	31	353	62,008
Deaths recorded by NCEI	1	62	26,435
Property damage (NCEI estimates)	$6.0M	$1.7B	$575B
NFIP claims per 1,000 residents	3.0	5.8	8.1
Average paid NFIP claim	$17K	$40K	$43K
Claims per 100 policies in force, last 10 years	11.8	37.4	16.1

County-recorded events plus zone-recorded events whose forecast zone is named for the county. State and US rows include events recorded only by forecast zone. Rates use 2021 Census population and land area.

Events by decade

Tornado: 1Wind: 1

Hail: 5Tornado: 2Wind: 3

Hail: 2Wind: 1

Hail: 5Wind: 20

Hail: 12Tornado: 1Flood: 15Wind: 50Winter: 24Heat: 4Drought: 1

Hail: 17Tornado: 2Flood: 24Wind: 44Winter: 76Heat: 1Cold: 18Wildfire: 1Lightning: 4

Hail: 12Flood: 22Wind: 80Winter: 83Tropical: 1Heat: 6Cold: 34Other: 3

Hail: 2Flood: 17Wind: 93Winter: 70Heat: 12Cold: 20Drought: 5Lightning: 1

21950s101960s31970s251980s1071990s1872000s2412010s2202020s

Recorded events in Bennington County by decade and hazard group. HailTornadoFloodWindWinterTropicalHeatColdDroughtWildfireLightningOther NCEI recorded only tornadoes, hail and thunderstorm wind before 1996.

Trend: 546 events in the 20 years to 2025 against 213 in the 20 years before. Reporting practice changed in 1996 and again with automated reports in the 2000s, so decade totals measure the record as much as the weather.

Events by type

Wind292

Winter253

Flood78

Cold72

Hail55

Heat23

Tornado6

Drought6

Lightning5

Other3

Tropical1

Wildfire1

Hazard	Events	Deaths	Share of state's events
■ Wind	292	—	8.5%	detail
■ Winter	253	—	5.3%	detail
■ Flood	78	—	8.6%	detail
■ Cold	72	1	11.1%
■ Hail	55	—	6.6%	detail
■ Heat	23	—	13.8%
■ Tornado	6	—	11.3%
■ Drought	6	—	28.6%
■ Lightning	5	—	5.3%
■ Other	3	—	4.0%
■ Tropical	1	—	33.3%
■ Wildfire	1	—	50.0%

Hazard pages exist for hail, tornado, flood, wind and winter where the county has at least 10 recorded events. "Other" covers heavy rain, debris flow, dust, funnel clouds and similar reports.

Largest recorded events

Date	Event type	Group	Magnitude	Property damage	Crop damage	Deaths	Injuries	Geography
8 Jan 2021	Cold/Wind Chill	Cold	—	—	—	1	—	Forecast zone
27 Jul 2007	Lightning	Lightning	—	$750K	—	—	1	County
29 May 1969	Tornado	Tornado	F2	$25K	—	—	1	County
16 Jul 2000	Lightning	Lightning	—	—	—	—	1	County
17 Feb 2006	High Wind	Wind	69 mph	—	—	—	1	Forecast zone
31 Mar 1997	Winter Storm	Winter	—	$750K	—	—	—	Forecast zone
31 May 1998	Tornado	Tornado	F2	$630K	—	—	—	County
16 Sep 1999	Flash Flood	Flood	—	$476K	—	—	—	County
19 Jan 1996	Flood	Flood	—	$300K	—	—	—	Forecast zone
29 Jul 2021	Flash Flood	Flood	—	$200K	—	—	—	County
29 Jul 2021	Flash Flood	Flood	—	$200K	—	—	—	County
10 Jul 2023	Flood	Flood	—	$200K	—	—	—	County
16 Sep 1999	High Wind	Wind	—	$150K	—	—	—	Forecast zone
21 Jul 2003	Tornado	Tornado	F1	$150K	—	—	—	County
27 Jul 2007	Lightning	Lightning	—	$150K	—	—	—	County
29 Jul 2021	Flash Flood	Flood	—	$150K	—	—	—	County
15 Jul 1995	Thunderstorm Wind	Wind	0 mph	$100K	—	—	—	County
16 Jul 2000	Flash Flood	Flood	—	$100K	—	—	—	County
24 Jan 2019	Flood	Flood	—	$100K	—	—	—	County
15 Apr 2019	Flood	Flood	—	$100K	—	—	—	County

Ranked by deaths, then injuries, then NCEI's damage estimate. Deaths and injuries are NCEI counts (direct plus indirect); no personal details are recorded here.

Federal disaster declarations

Declared	Number	Type	Incident	Title	Programs
8 Aug 2024	EM-3609	Emergency	Tropical Storm	Tropical Depression Debby	Public assistance
14 Jul 2023	DR-4720	Major disaster	Flood	Severe Storms, Flooding, Landslides, And Mudslides	Public assistance
10 Jul 2023	EM-3595	Emergency	Flood	Flooding	Public assistance
29 Sep 2021	DR-4621	Major disaster	Flood	Severe Storm And Flooding	Public assistance
22 Aug 2021	EM-3567	Emergency	Hurricane	Tropical Storm Henri	Public assistance
8 Apr 2020	DR-4532	Major disaster	Biological	Covid-19 Pandemic	Individual assistance, Public assistance
13 Mar 2020	EM-3437	Emergency	Biological	Covid-19	Public assistance
14 Jun 2019	DR-4445	Major disaster	Flood	Severe Storms And Flooding	Public assistance
16 Aug 2017	DR-4330	Major disaster	Severe Storm	Severe Storms And Flooding	Public assistance
1 Sep 2011	DR-4022	Major disaster	Hurricane	Tropical Storm Irene	Individual assistance, Public assistance
29 Aug 2011	EM-3338	Emergency	Hurricane	Hurricane Irene	Public assistance
14 Jan 2009	DR-1816	Major disaster	Severe Ice Storm	Severe Winter Storm	Public assistance
4 May 2007	DR-1698	Major disaster	Severe Storm	Severe Storms And Flooding	Public assistance
12 Sep 2003	DR-1488	Major disaster	Severe Storm	Severe Storms And Flooding	Public assistance
10 Apr 2001	EM-3167	Emergency	Snowstorm	Snow	Public assistance
18 Jan 2001	DR-1358	Major disaster	Severe Storm	Severe Storms And Flooding	Public assistance
27 Jul 2000	DR-1336	Major disaster	Severe Storm	Severe Storms And Flooding	Public assistance
10 Nov 1999	DR-1307	Major disaster	Severe Storm	Tropical Storm Floyd	Public assistance
13 Feb 1996	DR-1101	Major disaster	Flood	Ice Jams And Flooding	Public assistance
5 Aug 1976	DR-518	Major disaster	Flood	Severe Storms, High Winds & Flooding	Individual assistance, Public assistance
6 Jul 1973	DR-397	Major disaster	Flood	Severe Storms, Flooding, & Landslides	Individual assistance, Public assistance

Declarations in which FEMA designated this county, from the OpenFEMA Disaster Declarations Summaries (v2). DR: major disaster; EM: emergency; FM: fire management assistance. Programs show whether individual or public assistance was made available.

Flood insurance claims

197820022026

NFIP claims by year of loss in Bennington County, 1978 to 2026 (hover for the amount paid).

Claims since 1978112

Paid claims90

Total paid$1.5M

Average paid claim$17K

Repetitive-loss properties60 severe

Residential policies in force2381.5% of 16,173 structures

Year of loss	Claims	Paid claims	Amount paid	Average paid
2024	1	0	$0	—
2023	6	5	$88,131	$17,626
2022	2	0	$0	—
2021	7	6	$252,438	$42,073
2019	10	8	$150,679	$18,835
2017	2	2	$3,311	$1,655
2015	1	1	$8,300	$8,300
2014	1	1	$2,825	$2,825
2013	1	1	$4,723	$4,723
2012	1	1	$1,526	$1,526
2011	54	48	$972,521	$20,261
2005	3	1	$2,453	$2,453
2004	2	1	$2,450	$2,450
2002	1	0	$0	—
2001	1	1	$520	$520
1998	1	0	$0	—
1996	2	1	$2,459	$2,459
1995	1	1	$13,174	$13,174
1987	3	2	$4,373	$2,187
1984	2	1	$775	$775
1983	1	1	$1,232	$1,232
1982	1	1	$8,764	$8,764
1981	2	2	$7,258	$3,629
1980	3	2	$2,632	$1,316
1979	3	3	$2,584	$861

OpenFEMA NFIP claims (v3, as of 8 Sep 2026), aggregated by year of loss; amounts are building, contents and increased-cost-of-compliance payments as recorded. Repetitive-loss counts from the NFIP Multiple Loss Properties file (2 Aug 2026); policies in force from the NFIP Residential Penetration Rates file (3 Aug 2026).

National Risk Index

Overall riskRelatively Lowscore 52.3 of 100

Expected annual loss$19MRelatively Low

Social vulnerabilityRelatively Low

Community resilienceRelatively High

Hazard (NRI)	Risk rating	Expected annual loss
Inland flooding	Relatively Low	$11,624,078
Cold wave	Relatively Moderate	$4,990,522
Hurricane	Relatively Low	$780,683
Lightning	Relatively Low	$282,805
Tornado	Very Low	$282,062
Earthquake	Very Low	$232,584
Strong wind	Relatively Low	$175,434
Heat wave	Very Low	$123,744
Hail	Very Low	$120,343
Ice storm	Relatively Low	$94,831
Winter weather	Relatively Low	$58,967
Landslide	Relatively Low	$17,093
Wildfire	Very Low	$8,345
Avalanche	Relatively Low	$3,774

FEMA National Risk Index, December 2025 release. Ratings are FEMA's relative comparison of counties; expected annual loss is FEMA's modelled estimate of average yearly building, population and agriculture loss. See how to read the NRI.

Hurricane and tropical storm passes

Tracks within 100 miles27

Tracks within 50 miles7

Hurricane strength within 50 miles0

Storm	Year	Closest approach	Max wind while within 100 mi
Isaias	2020	67 mi	52 mph
Irene	2011	37 mi	58 mph
Floyd	1999	83 mi	58 mph
Bertha	1996	89 mi	69 mph
Gloria	1985	80 mi	86 mph
David	1979	35 mi	46 mph
Belle	1976	47 mi	40 mph
Doria	1971	84 mi	52 mph
Unnamed Atlantic storm	1968	78 mi	52 mph
Brenda	1960	81 mi	46 mph
Donna	1960	98 mi	69 mph
Carol	1954	87 mi	92 mph
Able	1952	59 mi	52 mph
Unnamed Atlantic storm	1949	61 mi	52 mph
Unnamed Atlantic storm	1938	25 mi	69 mph
Unnamed Atlantic storm	1934	71 mi	52 mph
Unnamed Atlantic storm	1929	72 mi	58 mph
Unnamed Atlantic storm	1924	37 mi	63 mph
Unnamed Atlantic storm	1915	98 mi	52 mph
Unnamed Atlantic storm	1899	70 mi	52 mph
Unnamed Atlantic storm	1894	94 mi	63 mph
Unnamed Atlantic storm	1893	6 mi	69 mph
Unnamed Atlantic storm	1893	78 mi	63 mph
Unnamed Atlantic storm	1878	34 mi	69 mph
Unnamed Atlantic storm	1874	80 mi	69 mph

HURDAT2 best-track positions at tropical-storm strength (34 kt) or more, measured from the county's Census centre point; through the 2025 season. Distance from a track is not the same as the extent of the storm's wind, rain or surge.

ZIP codes with flood claims

05255 34
05201 22
05250 13
05340 8
05257 8
05260 5

ZIP codes whose NFIP claims carry this county's code, with the number of claims. Five or more claims are needed for a ZIP page to be indexed.

Questions and answers

How often does it hail in Bennington County, VT?

NCEI records 55 hail events in Bennington County since 1950, in 32 different years; that is about 0.7 recorded events a year. 7 reports were golf-ball size (1.75 in) or larger.

Has Bennington County had a tornado?

Yes. NCEI records 6 tornadoes in Bennington County since 1950, 3 of them rated (E)F2 or stronger. Tornado deaths recorded: 0.

When was the last federal disaster declaration for Bennington County?

8 Aug 2024: Tropical Depression Debby, a emergency declaration for tropical storm. The county appears in 21 declarations since 1953.

How many flood insurance claims have been filed in Bennington County, and how much was paid?

112 NFIP claims since 1978, 90 of them paid, for $1.5M in total. FEMA publishes these figures redacted and aggregated; individual properties are not identified.

Is Bennington County in the National Risk Index's high-risk band?

FEMA's National Risk Index (December 2025) rates the county "Relatively Low" for overall risk, "Relatively Low" for expected annual loss, "Relatively Low" for social vulnerability and "Relatively High" for community resilience. These ratings are FEMA's relative comparison across all US counties.

How does Bennington County compare with the rest of Vermont?

117.9 recorded events per 100 square miles against 119.4 statewide, and 3.0 NFIP claims per 1,000 residents against 5.8. The comparison table on this page shows each measure beside the state and national figures.

Provenance

Storm events: NOAA NCEI Storm Events Database, yearly details files through 30 Jun 2026 (public domain). Declarations: OpenFEMA DisasterDeclarationsSummaries v2, refreshed 1 Oct 2026. Flood claims: OpenFEMA NfipClaims v3 as of 8 Sep 2026; NfipMultipleLossProperties v1 (2 Aug 2026); NfipResidentialPenetrationRates v1 (3 Aug 2026). Risk index: FEMA National Risk Index, December 2025. Hurricane tracks: NHC HURDAT2 through 2025. Population and area: US Census Bureau, 2021 vintage. Built 1 Oct 2026; see the methodology and corrections pages. Hazard hubs: Hail · Tornado · Flood · Wind · Winter.